The present invention relates to food treatment systems such as vertical rise dryers, smokers, curing chambers, ovens, warmers, coolers, and freezers.
Conventionally, several different food treatment system configurations have been proposed to smoke, cure, dry, cook, cool, or freeze food products (such as meat products) with the hope of increasing production capacity while attempting to limit the floor space required for carrying out same. In so doing, vertical rise systems have been used with spiral conveyors to move food vertically through the oven while exposing the food to certain processing conditions as it moves from top to bottom or bottom to top.
For example, the Northfield LST (Large Spiral Technology) freezer available from Frigoscandia Equipment (fmcfoddtech.com) is a high capacity non-self stacking spiral freezer that employs spiral conveyors with belts available in different widths. Ryson International Inc. of Newport News, Va., provides spiral conveyors that allegedly feature a small footprint and space savings over other brands with load capacities of up to 200 fpm.
Another example is the TURBO-Dryer(copyright) from Wyssmont (wyssmont.com). The TURBO-Dryer(copyright) uses a stack of slowly rotating circular trays. In operation, food is fed onto the top tray and, after one revolution, is wiped or swept onto the next lower tray where the operation is repeated. The trays are enclosed in a vertical enclosure that circulates heated air or gas about the food on the trays. All or selected levels in the enclosure may be held at a uniform temperature or the enclosure may be configured with zoned temperature regions having different temperatures.
Yet another example of vertical rise system is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,265 which describes conveying pepperoni meat to a conventional spiral dryer which includes a number of tiers (typically about 38-42) according to the initial moisture level, the desired final moisture level, the relative humidity of the air, the total amount of water to be removed, the temperature, and the conveyor speed.
Recently, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/888,925 to Shefet et al. describes an increased capacity food processing system that can limit the amount of dedicated floor space required to support the system in food processing facilities and/or increase the amount of food that can be processed through the food processing system over a production period. The contents of this application are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein. In addition, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/354,097, identified by Attorney Docket No. 9281-3PR, filed Feb. 4, 2002, describes food routing apparatus in food processing systems, particularly in high-speed mass production systems, that can effectuate food transfer along desired travel paths in an automated manner that promotes continuous movement and/or inhibits machine or system downtime. The contents of this application are also hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein.
Despite the foregoing, there remains a need to provide methods to inhibit the interruption of food movement along its intended path, particularly for products having leading edge portions that may interfere with the food""s forward movement in continuous and/or automated processing systems.
The present invention provides methods, devices, and systems for forming or shaping the leading edge of a product. The product/and or the devices may move along a predetermined travel path during the forming operations. That is, the product, the shaping devices, or both may be configured to move thereby inhibiting food movement disruption in substantially continuously moving production lines. In certain embodiments, forming or shaping mechanisms are positioned at predetermined locations along the travel path and the mechanisms act to either remove, contour, shape, or wipe back the leading edge of the food while the food is moving along its intended path without substantially impeding the food""s forward movement.
In certain embodiments, the methods, devices, and systems are configured so as to direct elongated encased food products to travel serially over one or more selected side-by-side travel paths and the shaping or forming can be carried out selectively in a selected traveled lane. The methods and devices can be configured to operate to direct the leading edge portion of the encased food product to turn back to overlie and rest against the top portion of the outer perimeter or outer surface of the food product. In certain embodiments, the leading edge portion is secured to the top portion of the food product so that it remains in position thereat as the food moves forward in its desired travel path in the food processor.
Certain embodiments are directed to methods for shaping or forming the leading edge portion of an elongated food product. The methods can include: (a) moving an elongated food item forward over a travel lane in a predetermined travel path in a food processing system, the elongated food item having a leading edge portion that extends beyond the primary body portion of the food, the travel lane having a floor food support surface, the food item residing on the floor support surface; (b) blowing the leading edge portion of the food item away from the primary direction of travel while the food item is moving forward in the travel lane; and then (c) deflecting the leading edge portion of the food item so that it overlies and contacts a portion of the primary body of the food item while the food item is moving forward.
In particular embodiments, the method may also include introducing liquid onto the upper portion of the primary body of the elongated food item after initiation of the blowing step and attaching the leading edge to the upper portion of the primary body of the food.
Other methods are directed to moving food items to be cooked or cured through a food processor having an oven and a plurality of side by side travel lanes, comprising: (a) concurrently transporting a plurality of strands of elongated food such that the elongated food strands travel over separate ones of side-by-side selectable pre-determined travel lanes in a predetermined travel path in a food processor, the elongated food strands each starting with a leading edge portion that extends beyond the primary body portion of the food, and wherein the travel lanes each have a floor food support surface, the food item in each lane residing on the respective floor support surface; (b) blowing the leading edge portion of the food items in a direction away from the primary direction of travel while the food strands are moving forward, each in its respective travel lane; and then (c) deflecting the leading edge portion of the food strands so that they overlie and contact the primary body of the food while the food strands are moving forward.
In certain embodiments, the elongated food strand is a meat product held in a casing.
Other embodiments of the present invention are directed to apparatus or mechanisms for manipulating leading edges of moving food. The device includes: (a) a food support floor having a portion that is configured to selectively permit the passage of forced gas therefrom; (b) a pressurized gas source in fluid communication with the floor; and (c) a pressing member positioned downstream of the start of the portion of the floor that emits forced gas. The pressing member is disposed above the floor a predetermined distance, the distance corresponding to the height of a food item that, in operation, travels on the floor under the pressing member. In operation, the food continuously travels through the mechanism causing the leading edge portion of the food item to be forced rearward with respect to the primary direction of travel of the food and attached to the back of the food as the food moves through the mechanism.
The device may further include a liquid source configured to release liquid onto the food as the food moves through the device. The liquid source is positioned downstream of the start of the portion of the floor that emits forced gas, proximate to the pressing member, and above the floor a predetermined distance so that, in operation, the liquid source resides above the food as the food travels thereunder.
Other embodiments are directed to an apparatus for shaping or forming the leading edge portion of an elongated food product. The apparatus includes: (a) means for moving an elongated food item forward over a first travel lane in a predetermined travel path in a food processing system, the elongated food item having a leading edge portion that extends beyond the primary body portion of the food, the travel lane having a floor food support surface, the food item residing on the floor support surface; (b) means for blowing the leading edge portion of the food item in a direction away from the floor support surface while the food item is moving forward in the first travel lane; and then (c) means for deflecting the leading edge portion of the food item rearward so that it overlies and contacts a portion of the primary body of the food item while the food item is moving forward.
Still other embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods for removing the leading edge portion of an elongated food item while the elongated food item is moving in a predetermined travel path in a food processing system. The method includes: (a) moving an elongated food item forward over a first travel lane in a predetermined travel path in a food processing system, the elongated food item having a leading edge portion that extends beyond the primary body portion of the food, the travel lane having a floor food support surface, the food item residing on the floor support surface; and (b) cutting the leading edge portion of the food item while the food item is moving forward in the first travel lane without substantially deforming the shape of the primary body of the elongated food item.
Similarly, other embodiments of the present invention are directed to apparatus for processing elongated food product having a primary body portion and a leading edge portion. The apparatus includes: (a) a food travel path comprising a plurality of side-by-side travel lanes, the travel lanes each comprising at least one moving floor configured to move an elongated food product in a predetermined travel path, wherein the food product is configured to travel over at least two of said travel lanes; (b) a plurality of pick-up guides, a respective one for each of the travel lanes, positioned in cooperative communication with the moving floor, the pick-up guides having upwardly extending opposing sidewall portions and opposing food ingress and egress portions with a ramped portion extending therebetween; and (c) a cutter configured upstream of the pick-up guides above at least one of said travel lanes to controllably extend down a distance to remove the leading edge portion of the elongated food product before the product moves into the respective pick-up guide.
The apparatus may also include a plurality of router guide channels located downstream of the pick-up guides and in cooperating communication therewith. Each guide channel has upwardly extending sidewalls that overlie a guide channel floor adapted to support the food as the food travels through a respective guide channel. In operation, the router guide channels guide the food product from a first travel lane into a different predetermined laterally altered travel lane. The guide channels"" upwardly extending sidewalls define an angular departure from the primary travel direction between the pick-up guides and the portion of the predetermined travel path that is located downstream of the router guide channels, so that, in operation, the at least one food product is directed to travel through a respective guide channel and laterally alter its travel path from a first travel lane to a second predetermined travel lane.
In certain embodiments the food product is an elongated meat product held in a casing, the elongated meat product can have a length of between about 20-85 feet.
The foregoing and other objects and aspects of the present invention are explained in detail in the specification set forth below.